


Love, Barry

by meowitskatmofo



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Love Simon Fusion, Based on Love Simon, DCTV Secret Santa 2018, Dorks in Love, Except I Never Saw The Movie, First Kiss, Fluff, I did my best, Love Simon References, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-25 19:56:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17127758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meowitskatmofo/pseuds/meowitskatmofo
Summary: Barry Allen is a young teen with some big secrets; he’s gay and in love with a boy he’s never even met.





	Love, Barry

**Author's Note:**

  * For [coopbastian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coopbastian/gifts).



Barry Allen couldn’t stop reading the email. He read it over and over, chewing anxiously on his lower lip. He blinked slowly, tracing the words with his finger as his pulse began to thrum. His online crush, Bulbasaur, wanted to meet him. He actually wanted to meet him for real.

In person.

Face to face.

Holy crap. It was really happening.

It had all started a few months ago when he read Bulbasaur’s anonymous confession online. He was a boy that went to Barry’s high school, in the same grade, and he was gay.

Seeing those words glowing on the computer screen filled him with immense hope. 

It was the first time Barry knew he wasn’t alone.

He’d known he was gay since he heard what the word meant, but he’d always been terrified to come out. He’d fumbled through awkward dates with girls and even a few awful kisses, but had stayed firmly in the closet. 

He didn’t know anyone else that was gay and having no one to discuss these feelings with, he kept them buried deep inside. 

Thought the guy mowing the lawn across the street was cute? Nah, wouldn’t say a word.

Hopelessly smitten with his chemistry lab partner, Cisco Ramon? Nope, would sooner die than admit how much he wanted to run his fingers through that long pretty hair.

Not even his best friends Iris and Eddie knew and they had all grown up together. His family had no clue, either. Everyone assumed he was straight, just a bit on the shy side, and Barry was terrified by the idea of any of them ever finding out.

But now, right there on the screen, was someone he could talk to. Someone who knew exactly what he was going through and would keep his secret. 

Barry created a new email address immediately, messaging Bulbasaur and signing his letter simply as ‘Red’. He told him that he also went to Central City High and that he was also secretly gay. He was so desperate for someone to talk to and he had refreshed his inbox frantically while waiting for a reply.

When it finally dinged, he almost cheered out loud.

**Hey, Red. Bulbasaur here. I’m totally down to chat if you want.**

Oh, Barry was so down.

He spent every spare second he could talking to Bulbasaur in the weeks that followed. They talked about when they both first knew they were gay, how scary it was to keep such a huge secret, and soon they were chatting about everything. They both loved Star Wars, Pokémon, and all sorts of other wonderful geeky stuff.

When he wasn’t in school or eating dinner with his family, Barry was completely glued to his laptop. It was always the highlight of his day. He looked forward to coming home so he could hide up in his room to talk to Bulbasaur until he fell asleep.

**You know, Red. Even though you think Darth Vader could beat Mewtwo, you’re still a pretty cool guy.**

Barry laughed when he read that message, smirking as he typed back.

_Says the guy who thinks Han shot first. You’re really cool, too. It’s been so great to have someone to talk to. I felt... I felt like I was drowning trying to be normal and at least with you - I can just be myself._

**I know what you mean. It’s suffocating, for reals, just trying to smile for everybody and pretend like everything is fine. And Han totally shot first, noob.**

_Do you ever think about coming out? I mean for real real, not just posting that anon thing. I sometimes imagine how everybody would react and it ranges from super happy hugs to blood curdling screaming and getting dragged in front of a priest. And George Lucas himself changed that scene. Greedo shot first._

**Sometimes. I dunno. Maybe I’ll just wait college to do it. I don’t wanna think about coming out at this stupid school as myself. That dumb thing I posted was so impulsive of me.**

**I don’t care who changed it. Han shot first. The end.**

_Well, I’m really glad you did. We wouldn’t have met otherwise, you know? Talking to you means the world to me. And not just the gay thing. All of it. You’re amazing._

_Still don’t care. :P_

**No, totally. I’m glad I did, too. Got a lot of nasty emails, you know, typical mouth breather bullshit about being a butt pirate. Got some really nice stuff, supportive stuff. And then there was you. Like, talking with you was like finding another light in the darkness kinda thing.**

Barry had smiled warmly at the message, so close to passing out, but he managed one more reply before he did.

_You’re my light, too. Thank you for everything. ;)_

_And Greedo still totally shot first._

Days went by, all filled with more awesome conversation, but it wasn’t until last night that Barry realized his affection for Bulbasaur might be more than merely platonic. They had been chatting as usual, but one of Bulbasaur’s messages caught him by surprise.

**I love that you have the periodic table memorized. It’s so damn sexy.**

Barry’s entire body spontaneously caught on fire. No one had ever called him sexy before, especially not another guy, rubbing his heated face as he struggled to think up what to say in reply.

 _Well, you have the opening scroll of every_ Star Wars _movie committed to memory. That’s super cute._

He regretted it as soon as he said it. Cute was for puppies, not for boys who made his day brighter and filled it with laughter and joy and could always cheer him up no matter what... holy crap.

Barry was falling in love with Bulbasaur. 

He had no idea what he even looked like, but he knew he had fallen hard for his mysterious geeky pal. He was kind and perfect and funny and... oh, yeah, Barry had it bad. He had no idea what to do, turning to Iris and Eddie for help at school the next day.

“So, there’s this person,” Barry began carefully once they were seated outside to eat their lunch, “That I really, reeeeally like. Like, I think I’m falling in love with them kind of like-“

“Awww, Barry!” Iris gushed, absolutely thrilled and giving him a big hug. “I’m so happy for you!”

“That’s awesome!” Eddie cheered. “Who’s the lucky girl?”

Barry gulped loudly, awkwardly pulling himself out of Iris’ arms as he looked between his two friends. “Well... it’s someone at our school. Uhm, it’s kind of complicated because I don’t actually know who they are?”

“Wait,” Iris blinked. “Then how do you know you’re in love with her?”

“We’ve been talking online for like freakin’ months now,” Barry quickly explained. “We’ve never actually met. And it’s not... it’s... well.” He was starting to sweat, looking all around to make sure none of their fellow students happened to be listening. “It’s not what you think.”

“What is it, Barry?” Eddie asked with a frown, taking a bite of his sandwich. “You can tell me and Iris! Come on, dude.”

“He doesn’t have to tell us if he doesn’t want to,” Iris firmly corrected, patting Barry’s arm. “But we’re here for you if you ever want to talk.”

It was right there on the tip of Barry’s tongue, the dreaded confession, fear creeping up the back of his throat. He felt nauseous, staring stupidly at his dear friends as he tried to speak, “Uh...”

“Barry?” Iris’ eyes were filled with concern, asking gently, “Hey... Are you okay?”

“It’s not a girl,” he squeaked.

“Oh!” Iris blinked rapidly, definitely surprised, but suddenly she was smiling. She didn’t seem angry at all.

“Huh?” Eddie looked over at Iris, helplessly lost.

“Barry’s crush is a boy,” Iris gushed, dragging him back in for another hug. “Oh, Barry! I’m so glad you told us! Oh! Oh! Are we the first ones?”

“Technically the second,” Barry laughed nervously. “The guy, uhm, the one I like. He knows. I came out to him first. I mean, yeah. It’s, wow, I can’t believe I just told you!”

“I freakin’ knew it!” Iris cackled. “Ah, this is awesome!”

“Wait, knew what?” Eddie demanded. “What’s going on?”

Barry took a deep breath, saying firmly, “Eddie, I’m gay.”

“Oh,” Eddie said, licking his lips absently. He took a few moments to absorb this, asking curiously, “But you’re so tall?”

“Pretty sure that has nothing to do with it,” Iris chuckled sweetly.

“Huh,” Eddie shrugged and went back to eating his sandwich.

“We love you, Barry,” Iris promised him, “No matter what. Gay, straight, whatever. We will be here for you!”

“Always,” Eddie confirmed with a big smile.

“Thank you,” Barry sighed happily. “Seriously. Like, so much.”

“Now!” she chirped excitedly. “You’ve gotta tell us about your boy! How did you meet?”

“Well,” Barry began shyly, “Do you remember that post everybody was talking about a while back? From the guy calling himself Bulbasaur? That’s how it all started...”

He told them both about the emails and how much fun he’d had getting to know Bulbasaur. He gushed at length about how much they had in common and how he was sure he had fallen totally head over heels for him. 

It felt so good to talk about Bulbasaur and it made the affection he felt for him even more real.

“He sounds adorable!” Iris said with a grin. “But you really have no idea who it is?”

“No,” Barry replied, “I just know he goes to school with us. I have no clue.”

“Sounds like Cisco,” Eddie piped up, scowling when Barry and Iris both stared at him. “What? It totally does! He’s in my math class and everything Barry is saying-“

“It’s not Cisco,” Barry insisted, “It just can’t be. Cisco likes that Lisa girl. It just... Ulgh. Don’t get me wrong, that would be awesome, but it’s not.”

“Okay, if you’re sure,” Eddie said. “Just saying, it could still totally be him.”

“It’s totally _not_ him and I still really need your help,” Barry said with a groan, “Now that I know how I feel about Bulbasaur, I don’t know what to do.”

“Well, you ask him out!” Iris said confidently. 

“What?” Barry blushed immediately. “I can’t do that!”

“Why not? You’re freakin’ in love with him!” Iris protested. “How else are you gonna find who he is? And, more importantly, if he feels the same way about you?”

“Easy! I don’t ever find out!” Barry whined, dropping his head down miserably. “I just keep it all inside and I tell absolutely no one else, especially Bulbasaur.”

“Hey! You guys talking about Pokémon?” a familiar voice chimed in excitedly.

Barry jerked up, gawking at the smiling face of Cisco Ramon himself and stuttering, “N-no, nope, no Pokémon here.”

“Oh,” Cisco said shortly, frowning a bit. “Sorry, I thought I heard... yeah, right, uhm, just wanted to see if you finished the chemistry worksheet for Friday?”

“Not yet,” Barry replied, wishing his damn face wasn’t still so red. 

“If you need some help, just let me know,” Cisco offered cheerfully, shifting his backpack on his shoulder.

Eddie was staring him down intently, silently sipping his soda. 

“Eh... you okay, Eddie?” Cisco asked slowly, clearly uncomfortable to be the focus of such attention.

“He’s fine!” Iris smacked Eddie, clearing her throat as she said, “Look. It’s super nice of you to wanna help Barry and I’m sure he super appreciates it, but we were having a pretty important conversation...”

“Oh, okay.” Cisco nodded in understanding, and yet he didn’t move.

“A very _private_ conversation,” Iris added with a quirk of her brows.

“Like, epic level private,” Barry said earnestly.

“Like Darth Vader versus Mewtwo epic?” Cisco asked, tilting his head curiously.

Barry stared for a few moments, hesitating to reply. That was a very strange comparison, so specific, and it was weirdly familiar. He couldn’t quite place it but before he could say anything, Iris was already talking again.

“If that means super top secret epic and for best friends only, then yes,” Iris said quickly, politely shooing Cisco away. “See ya’ later, Cisco!”

“Uh, bye!” Cisco waved, offering Barry a little smile before hurrying off. 

“Bye!” Barry waved back, his heart flickering a little when he caught Cisco’s smile.

“It’s totally him,” Eddie hissed, ducking down to make sure no one else could hear him. “Did you see the way he looked at you, Barry? He has the man hots for you.”

“Shush! He does not!” Barry hissed back, pleading with Iris, “Okay, seriously, help? All of it, I need all of the help, please.”

“I got you! Now, listen,” Iris said firmly, “When you go home tonight, you tell Bulbasaur that you want to meet. Okay, maybe not as an official date, but you say you wanna hang out. Easy, right?”

“So easy,” Barry squeaked miserably, terrified and finding for the first time he was dreading coming home to his laptop. He didn’t know what to say and everything he imagined telling Bulbasaur sounded lame as crap in his head.

To his surprise, there was already a new email waiting for him when he booted up his laptop.

**Hey, Red. I know this might seem really sudden or crazy or whatever, but I wanna meet. I’ve been seriously loving our emails so hard, but I need to put a face with the incredible guy that means so much to me. You’re the guy. In case that wasn’t clear. Anyway. Uhm.**

**The fair’s still in town. We could meet up tonight at like seven o’clock by the Ferris wheel. Totally understand if you don’t want to, no pressure at all, but I really, reeeeeeally hope you come. I’ll be wearing a Bulbasaur shirt so you know it’s me.**

**See you tonight. I hope. Pretty please. Yeah, sorry, just uh, lemme know.**

**Love, Bulbasaur**

Barry couldn’t believe it. Love. Bulbasaur had really said it. He’d said the ‘l’ word. Could it be... yes, it had to be. Bulbasaur loved him, too.

He was practically panting from how hard his heart was pounding, his fingers trembling as he struggled to reply as quickly as he could. 

_Hey, Bulbasaur! Yes! Yes, a thousand million times yes. I would love to go out with you tonight. Meet you tonight. Whatever. Yes, I will be there. I’ll wear a red shirt and I’ll be waiting for you._

_Love, Red_

Before he hit send, he paused. In a few hours it wouldn’t matter how he signed his emails because Bulbasaur would know exactly who he was. Signing off with love under a pseudonym didn’t feel right. He carefully hit the backspace button, typing a new sign off.

_Love, Barry_

He took a big breath and hit send. This was it.  
Holy crap, this was really going down. He tried to tell himself that this was exactly what he had wanted. Not only was he going to finally learn Bulbasaur’s true identity, but it was obvious he hadn’t been imagining the romantic feelings between them.

Seven o’clock couldn’t arrive quickly enough and when it was finally time, Barry had never run so fast before in his life.

He dashed over to the fairgrounds, buying tickets and rushing on inside. The buzz of the rides and games was distracting, trying to stay focused as he headed straight to the ferris wheel. He could hear people laughing, alarms sounding, and music thumping all around him.

He wiggled his way through the crowd, keeping his eyes on the giant rainbow wheel ahead of him. His palms were sweating, gulping and wiping them off obsessively on his jeans.

In just a few moments, he was going to meet Bulbasaur.

He stood off to the side when he reached the ferris wheel, tucking his sweaty hands into his pockets while he waited. He took a few deep breaths, looking all around. He had no idea what to expect.

Barry didn’t have to wait too long, the bright image of the plant Pokémon catching his attention through the crowd. This was it, this was actually happening. His heart leapt up into his mouth, staring at the person wearing the Bulbasaur shirt as they approached and blinking several times to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.

“Cisco?” Barry softly gasped, gaping at him in total shock. A giant smile cracked his stunned expression, asking excitedly, “It’s really you?”

“Yeah,” Cisco replied shyly, scratching at his neck as he laughed, “Sorry I’m not Harrison Ford, but uh, yeah... hi.”

“You’re Bulbasaur? Really?”

“That’s me,” Cisco nodded, pointing at his shirt. “Bulbasaur, yup. My favorite Pokémon and very lame internet handle for talking to really hot boys.”

“You think _I’m_ hot?” Barry blushed as red as his shirt, stepping closer as he gushed, “Oh, my God! Have you even seen you? You’re so smart and you have the best freakin’ smile ever.”

Now it was Cisco’s turn to flush all over, laughing, “How about we just agree that we’re both exceptionally attractive people and go from there?”

“Done,” Barry chuckled, grinning brightly as he reached for Cisco’s hand. It was hot and damp like his own and nothing had ever felt so good.

“So,” Cisco said, licking his lips nervously. “We’re here. We’re queer. Wanna take that ride?”

“Hell yes,” Barry said, leading Cisco over to get in line for the ferris wheel. He squeezed his hand, his stomach frantically fluttering away. “I still can’t believe it’s really you. I should have known when you said that thing about Mewtwo and Darth Vader earlier today!”

“Yeah? I kinda had a feeling. Wow. I’ve never been so happy I posted that letter,” Cisco said with a goofy smile. “It’s like fate or like the Force or something. The one gay boy who wrote me just happens to also be my super ridiculous crush? Yeah, gotta be the Force.”

“You have a crush on me?” Barry laughed, tilting his head bashfully as he confessed, “I had a crush on you, too. I mean, I still do. I’m very much crushing on you.”

“Holy crap, that’s amazing,” Cisco gushed, lacing their fingers together as they stepped up onto the platform. They sat down in the next available cabin, huddling close as the wheel began to turn.

As the wheel rose up higher and higher, Barry couldn’t take his eyes off of Cisco. All the colorful lights of the fair were flashing over his face and made his smile impossibly more dazzling. He looked absolutely gorgeous.

Cisco was equally enamored, saying quietly, “So, uhm, I like you... and you like me. And we’ve already established that we’re both very pretty and very gay...”

“Uh huh,” Barry nodded, pressing closer as Cisco rambled on. “Hey... Cisco?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m pretty sure if you don’t kiss me right now, I’m going to lose my freakin’ mind,” Barry breathed.

“That, yup, I can totally do that.” Cisco leaned forward, shy but eager, pressing his lips to Barry’s in a sweet kiss.

Cisco’s lips tasted wonderful, Barry gasping at the immediate rush of emotion he felt surging through him. He had to reach out, had to touch, finally getting his hands all in that lovely hair as the kiss deepened quickly.

It was impatient, heated, both of them trying to find the right angle and how to hold each other. Barry moaned in surprise when Cisco grabbed onto his hip, the simple touch sending a bolt of lightning racing up his spine.

“Wait!” Cisco panted, pulling away to blink at Barry with wide eyes. “Was that a happy sound? Like, ‘do that again, Cisco’? Or was it a ‘never ever do that again, Cisco’?”

“Definitely do it again,” Barry gasped, crashing their lips back together, kissing him passionately.

The wheel kept turning as they made out, quick fingers eager to explore each other’s skin just beneath the edge of their shirts. Barry would have crawled right in Cisco’s lap if he could have, content to tangle their legs together and licking his way into his mouth.

Barry could feel the ride slowing down and knew they would have to get off soon. The urgency of their kiss began to slow as well, trading soft breaths and sweet pecks. Their hands met, pulling apart just enough to stare at each other adoringly. 

“You’re a really, really good kisser,” Cisco murmured softly, his hair all a mess from Barry’s eager affections.

“So are you,” Barry whispered back, reaching out over to gently smooth down Cisco’s fluffed up locks. “Like, we’re gonna be doing that all the time.”

“Hell to the yeah,” Cisco cheered, laughing warmly as he said, “Every chance we get.”

The ride came to a stop, the attendant smirking at them knowingly as he politely asked, “Ready to get off or are you fellas going for another spin?”

“Uhhhh,” Cisco giggled nervously, trying to adjust himself as he grinned sheepishly at Barry. “What do you think? One more?”

Barry nodded eagerly, smiling at the attendant as he said, “Definitely.” He leaned back into Cisco’s arms as the wheel began to move again, kissing him softly as he sighed, “God, I could do this all freakin’ night.”

“The ride or the making out or both?” Cisco teased, his hand finding Barry’s hip and squeezing playfully.

“Both,” Barry panted breathlessly, “But the fair’s gotta close eventually, so we can’t stay on the ride forever.”

“But the kissing?” Cisco asked shyly. “And the touching and the laughing and the talking and the very hopefully dating thing? What about that?”

“That, yeah,” Barry promised, kissing Cisco sweetly with a happy sigh. “Forever sounds good to me.”

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas!!! :D


End file.
